The Big Cookie Swap

I’m upright! I finally – after four days – figured out I had been doing everything exactly wrong – heat instead of ice, and lying on my back – which I thought meant taking it easy but wound up being about the most painful position I could be in. At 4:30 am I decided I wasn’t in any more pain sitting in a chair at my desk – and less so, in fact – and so I did. And here are the photos from Saturday’s cookie party! Sorry I’m so tardy.

There were peanut butter balls! Two kinds! I had bought the ingredients, and was bummed that I didn’t get around to making some. I didn’t even have to. There were salted brownies, too.

It was awesome. I mean, completely. A house full of friends and cookies, bubbly pink moscato, ‘nog, simmering cider – Carol brought her big coffee urn and sliced fresh oranges into the top, along with cinnamon sticks and other whole spices, and put apple juice in the bottom. It percolated through the spices and orange and was fab.

She was also on rosette duty, standing at the stove with iron, oil and batter, cranking out the crispy cookies as people arrived. I had, you won’t be surprised to hear, just started cooking them as the doorbell rang. They’re best freshly cooked – having a Carol around helps.




We nibbled and chatted and as it was time to go, people filled containers – or ice cream buckets – with treats. It was like trick-or-treating for grown-ups. And not scary at all.




I’m sure I’ve missed some, there were so many, and no two alike. I’ve been subsisting on cookies and reheated apple cider for four days. It wasn’t bad timing.

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18 comments on “The Big Cookie Swap

  1. Sue. D
    December 14, 2011 at 10:52 pm

    Oh how I wish I’d been there! LOOK at those treats, yuh-um.

    I have a certain 12 year old girl in house who’s enamoured of all things mint and chocolatey – can’t wait to give the After Eights a go!

  2. Joann@womaninreallife
    December 15, 2011 at 6:49 am

    That looks like my kind of party!

  3. Avery
    December 15, 2011 at 8:56 am

    Mmmmm… I’d have probably snatched that whole bowl of PB balls and ran (happily, greedily) had I been there. Everything sounded delicious!

  4. Vivian
    December 15, 2011 at 9:10 am

    Good idea for a cookie! I’ll give these a try next time I get some After Eights. Glad everyone had a wonderful CookieFest. Could you show how rosettes are made? I’m intrigued. They look like they’d go well with ice cream.

  5. Erica B.
    December 15, 2011 at 10:22 am

    It was an absolutely fantastic way to spend an afternoon! Loved meeting everyone and Carol that cider was delicious! The cookies I took away with me gave me the fortification required to head in to Chinook Centre & ToysRUs that evening 🙂

    On case anyone is looking for the pecan pie cookie recipe I found it over on Bakers Royale: http://www.bakersroyale.com/cookies/pecan-pie-cookies/ ((I made them without the drizzle since I didn’t think it’d hold up well on the car trip down from Sylvan Lake))

  6. Manon from Ontario
    December 15, 2011 at 10:22 am

    OMG Julie…I’m moving…that’s it….that just looks soo good….but on the other hand…I wouldn’t fit in any of my clothes by new year!

    Looks just delightful 🙂

    MFO

  7. Erica B.
    December 15, 2011 at 10:23 am

    oops IN case even… dang fingers 😉

  8. Anonymous
    December 15, 2011 at 10:49 am

    What are scruffles? Everything looks so good. (I am so sorry about your back pain…I suffer from it as well. The best advice I have, breath in sloooowly and breathe out slowly. do this for a few minutes then as long as you can. It relaxes your body and will help with the pain.)

  9. Stephanie
    December 15, 2011 at 10:49 am

    What are scruffles? Everything looks so good. (I am so sorry about your back pain…I suffer from it as well. The best advice I have, breath in sloooowly and breathe out slowly. do this for a few minutes then as long as you can. It relaxes your body and will help with the pain.)

  10. Nicole
    December 15, 2011 at 11:29 am

    After eights are my favourite candy ever. I am in love.

  11. AJDoula
    December 15, 2011 at 9:11 pm

    Scruffles are also called zucherhoernchen or icicles. I got the recipe from the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog – http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2009/04/icicles-zuckerhoernchen.html

    It was a wonderful afternoon,Julie – thanks again for opening your home.

  12. Carol SB
    December 15, 2011 at 9:38 pm

    Oh, it WAS a wonderful afternoon. So great to see the folks whose comments I’ve read… and, yum, to eat with and enjoy talking with other people who’re as in love with cooking as our lovely hostess. (True, that is grammatically ambiguous: we love cooking AND we love our Julie!)
    Manon, I know you were there in spirit… and if you noticed a sudden small weight gain, that’s because I ate a couple of cookies for you. I knew you wouldn’t mind.
    Erica, I did manage to score a couple of pecan pie cookies: thanks for the link. They are super.

  13. Vincci
    December 15, 2011 at 10:32 pm

    YUM! I’m so sad to have missed it! Glad to hear you’re feeling better, Julie!

  14. Cassie
    December 17, 2011 at 9:28 am

    So glad that I came Julie! Thanks for hosting us, it was fantastic to meet you and everyone else 🙂

  15. Ashley
    December 17, 2011 at 7:49 pm

    Your cookie swap sounds like SO much fun!!! I really want to participate in a cookie swap like this. Happy to hear you’re feeling better!

  16. triumphantmama
    December 21, 2011 at 10:56 am

    found u while looking for inspiration on howto do a ginormous bison roast-thx btw!it is bigger than his head&cost a fortune! anyway, these aftr8 cookies r genius! Iv recently changedover my kitchen to square muffin tins- 12 new pans! so I can churn out teeny individual pwrbars, bananabread, & brownies for my 8 y-old “Food Processor”/son. The next batch of brownies will have aftr8 surprise centrs which will fit perfctly!!! Coincidentally the roast is for our dec22nd anniversary & our wedding cake was a 7 layer chocolate torte with white mint buttrcream & covrd in aftr8s!!!! thankyou4you xo (off to put buttrcream on shoppinglist)

  17. Celia
    November 26, 2012 at 11:37 pm

    Those chocolate chip and molasses cookies look beautiful! Would it be possible to get the recipes?

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